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Well, the title actually explains itself quite well and I think that will make this a short article. It’s official at last! BBM is almost here! What? Yes, I know BlackBerry users use it all the time. I meant that it’s (almost) here for Android and iOS! After a recent fiasco involving a fake BlackBerry Messenger app that resulted in a bit of a problem for some people, this news might sound sceptical, but it’s on BlackBerry’s official site, so, I think it’s legitimate. Also, only devices running Android 4.x(Ice Cream Sandwich) and iOS 6 and 7 can download and use the app.

BBM coming to iOS and Android!

It’s rumoured to be releasing on 21st September but there’s no mention of the date on the official site of BBM but there is an email subscription which will send you information about it’s release as and when it can. (Speaking of subscriptions, did you know we have one?) Click here to go register your e-mail id to know when it comes out, though I will download it and let you know when it does.

Now, everyone is highly sceptical of BBM and how it’ll do in a world where WhatsApp feel threatened. People think that BlackBerry might be selling out their one selling point for their devices, me included. They also think that BBM has taken to long to be ported and users are more comfortable in their new messaging apps like WhatsApp or Kik or Line or WeChat. That’s a very good possibility, actually, but let’s look at BlackBerry’s point of view. They are in such heavy losses that there are rumours that they might be firing upto 40% of their staff soon. The release and success of the Playbook was much worse than expected and did not do much for them at all. Their market share has gone down terribly and the only people who are sticking to them are BBM fanboys. At least in this way, they have a possibility of spreading cross platform and going to influence more devices and bring back a lot of fans.

Looking at it, though, BBM does have a couple of good features. For example, there’s an option to share screens with another person, which I find very helpful on Skype but might not be great on a phone as I use it to point and show things I can’t easily explain. And it a normal call can immediately become a video call with one click, apparently. There’s also the unique idea of the pin code which each device has that can be sent or shown for others to add you easily. Other than that, it has the same old features, like real time chatting, voice messaging, files sharing, etc.

BBM.

The question is, will BlackBerry Messenger be enough with it’s slight selling points to bring back people who once loved it/ bring in new people who might start to love it and move them away from the dominating apps in the market now? It would have to be done really well and have no problems, though. Let me know what you think in the comments below and I’ll be sure to reply. Also, like and favourite this article if you enjoyed it! Till next time, techies!